Examining My White Privileged Heart in the Aftermath of Charlottesville
Indignant? Horrified? Dismayed? I can’t find the exact right word, or combination of words, to adequately describe my feelings about what happened in Charlottesville and in the days since. I can’t fathom the depths of bigotry that motivate the hateful rhetoric and symbolism of the white nationalist movement. How do we even begin to heal the vast chasm that divides these extremists from the rest of us? The fact that there is an “us” and a “them” is abhorrent, but I will clearly stand with my sisters and brothers and declare myself on the side of People of Color, Jews, the LGBTQ community, and anyone else targeted by the vile (anagram of evil) fringe that bangs its drums to the rhythm of fanatical narrow mindedness. Is it a paradox to be intolerant of white supremacists while calling for them to be tolerant of others? Are we allowed to hate them and the people who refuse to harshly condemn them? Can we claim that we are on the righteous side of the abyss...